Flying Swallow

A 19th century diamond and platinum stylised swallow mounted on a 18k white gold black ruthenium plated torque with an onyx and diamond clasp, flies head downwards with its outstretched wings, thread set in a feather pattern, and its beak delicately holding a detachable 20 carat square emerald-cut diamond.

Harbinger of hope and springtime the swooping swallow signifies good fortune, and is mentioned frequently in literature from Aesop to Shakespeare’s Richard III, “True hope is swift, and flies with swallow’s wings”. And most notably in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, for one swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy. A 19th century diamond and platinum stylised swallow